His new book, Becoming Ronald Reagan: The Rise of a Conservative Icon, is published by Potomac Books.

Mann’s essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Boston Globe,Politico and Smithsonian. He has discussed his research and appeared as a political analyst on numerous national television and radio programs, including MSNBC, CBS News, ABC News and National Public Radio.

Prior to joining the LSU faculty in 2006, Mann spent more than 20 years in the political arena, working for three United States senators and a Louisiana governor. He was communications director to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, after serving 19 years as a U.S. Senate aide.

He was state director to U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, and served as Breaux’s press secretary. He also served as press secretary to U.S. Senator Russell Long of Louisiana. He was also press secretary for the 1990 re-election campaign of U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana, the 1992 and 1998 Breaux re-election campaigns and the 2003 Blanco campaign. He wrote a column about national and Louisiana politics for the New Orleans Times-Times Picayune from 2013 to 2018.